From Darkness Comes Light
by ArtemisQuinnMorgenstern
Summary: -IN PROGRESS- Takes place at the end of the story, just as Erik kidnaps Christine during Don Juan Triumphant. An 18 year old chorus girl doesn't believe the Phantom is dead. So she ventures into the darkness of the catacombs of the Paris Opera House to find the Angel of Music. My summaries are crap. Sorry! Please R&R! Rated to be safe!
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: **__Well...here we are. I actually have a _Phantom _fic that isn't going to be a one-shot. The Angel of the Night decided to pay me a visit a couple of days ago and asked if I would tell this story. After a few chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk, I said I'd do it. And he's decided to stay a while so that I get this story right. Because let's face it, no one says no to Erik._

_I don't own anything from _Phantom of the Opera._ Ariana and any other original characters that pop up in this story are the only ones I'm taking credit for._

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><p><strong><span>Chapter One - From Order Comes Chaos<span>**

Panic swept over the Paris Opera House. 18 year old Ariana Ricci had just seen the lead soprano, Christine Daae, get kidnapped by a masked man right off of the stage in the middle of a performance. It had been _him_. The Phantom. He had written an opera, _Don Juan Triumphant_, and must have some how gotten onto the stage, disguised as the masked leading man Don Juan, so that he could take Christine away forever.

It had all happened so fast.

And now, chaos spread throughout the opera house. Members of the audience fled from their seats towards the exits. Ariana's fellow chorus girls were wide-eyed and crying, gathering around Meg Giry in hopes of finding safety with the veteran performer.

"Girls! Come with me!" Meg shouted over the commotion. "It's not safe here!" She turned on her heel and raced toward the backstage area. Ariana followed at the back of the group of girls and just before she turned down the hall toward the chapel of the opera house, she saw Meg's mother Madame Giry take the hand of the Viscount de Changy and pull him toward a door hidden behind a tapestry on a wall. Realizing she had fallen behind, Ariana raced to catch up with Meg and the rest of the group.

Inside the chapel, the chorus girls were all talking at once.

"It was him! The Phantom! He's the one who took Christine!"

"But where did he take her?!"

"He won't kill her, will he?"

"She's gone forever. Once the Phantom gets you, he never lets you go."

"GIRLS!" Meg's voice echoed in the small sanctuary. "We need to pray for Christine's safe return. A search party has gone down into the catacombs to look for her. With God's good grace, they will find her and return her safely." With that, Meg walked up to the small alter, lit a candle, dropped to her knees, and began praying silently. The other chorus girls went to their knees and copied Meg, praying to God for the safe return of Christine and the group that went after her. All except for Ariana. No one knew, but she was a practicing Pagan, so praying to a deity she didn't believe in seemed pointless to the young woman. Not wanting to draw unwanted attention to herself, however, Ariana went to her knees and and bowed her head. Instead of prayers, thoughts of Madame Giry, the Viscount, and the tapestry filled her mind. Why hadn't they gone with the other group to the catacombs? Where did that door behind the tapestry lead? Did Madame Giry know something no one else did? The thoughts swirled around in Ariana's mind until she decided she would go looking for answers.

The hours passed and still no word of the missing soprano or her captor. Madame Giry found the girls in the chapel, but didn't say anything as she led them all back to their dorms. Ariana saw Meg attempt to speak with her mother at the head of the group, but Madame Giry shot her a glance that said 'hold your tongue', so Meg fell silent.

Once Ariana reached the dorm she shared with two other girls who were already in the room, she closed the door and began getting out of her elaborate costume from the _Don Juan _performance.

"What do you think, Ariana?" Isabella, a 17 year old Italian singer asked her roommate.

"What do I think about what?" Ariana replied, pulling on a black long sleeve shirt and black leggings.

"About Christine's disappearance, of course!" Isabella responded, looking at the door to make sure Ariana had indeed closed it when she came in. "Do you think she'll come back?"

"If the Viscount has anything to say about it, yes." Ariana said, taking her dark red hair out of its French braid and brushing it out so that it would fall neatly halfway down her back.

"What makes you say that?" Bridgette, a 17 year old Parisian dancer inquired. Ariana dropped her voice even lower than it had previously been before she spoke again.

"Right before we went to the chapel with Meg, I saw the Viscount and Madame go over to the tapestry of the angel in the cemetery and go through a door that was hidden behind it." Bridgette and Isabella's eyes widened as Ariana spoke. "I...I think Madame took him straight to the Phantom."

"So...you think he'll save her"? Bridgette asked.

"I do. And if he doesn't kill the Phantom himself, he'll tell that mob right where he is." Ariana replied with certainty. The other two girls were amazed at the certainty in Ariana's voice.

Once her hair was thoroughly brushed out, Ariana splashed water onto her face from a basin in the corner and used a rag to wipe off her makeup, then climbed up into her bunk and grabbed a worn copy of Dante's _Divine Comedy_ from off of the small shelf she had set up on the wall when she had first moved into the dorm room the year before. The shelf held three books, Dante's _Divine Comedy, _Shakespeare's _Othello_, and a book of Edgar Allan Poe's poetry. The shelf also housed a small silver jewelry box that had originally belonged to her mother and a small jade statue of a horse her father had given her from a trip to the China Sea. The small collection was all that she had left of her family.

The girls hadn't been in their beds more than 20 minutes when a commotion was heard out in the hallway. Ariana looked up from her book, trying to hear what the voices outside were saying. When she couldn't decipher anything, she closed her book, set it on her pillow, and climbed down from her bunk.

"Ariana! What are you doing?" Isabella whispered loudly. "You know Madame told us to stay here until she said otherwise."

"There's something going on out there. I'm gonna go see what it is." Ariana whispered back, reaching for the doorknob.

"Ariana..."

"I'll be quick. I promise." Ariana stuck her head out the door and looked around. The voices were coming from the direction of the dressing rooms. Padding barefoot down the familiar hall, she snuck out and turned the corner to the dressing rooms. There stood most of the cast and crew of the Paris Opera House along with the search party that had gone after Christine and the Phantom. They were all standing around the Viscount and Christine in front of the door to Christine's dressing room.

"So, the Phantom. He's dead then?" a male voice asked.

"Oh yes, We dispatched of him as soon as we realized Miss Daae was safe with the Viscount," the apparent leader of the search party replied. "He won't be terrorizing this opera house ever again." The group applauded.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if you please. Miss Daae has had a very traumatic evening. Allow me to escort her inside her dressing room and have everyone leave her be," the Viscount said. Without another word, he took Christine by the hand, opened her dressing room door, and disappeared inside with her. Before anyone could see she was about, Ariana quickly made her way back to the dorm hallway, only to find everyone standing in the hall.

"Christine is back." Ariana announced. "The Viscount is with her. The search party swears they killed the Phantom and that he won't be terrorizing us ever again." Relief swept over the faces of the chorus girls, none more so than the face of Meg Giry. Ariana returned to her dorm, climbed back up into her bunk, and pretended to fall asleep. Sleep, however, was the furthest thing from her mind. She was waiting until she was certain everyone was asleep. She didn't believe for one minute that the Phantom was dead. And once she was sure everyone was in for the night, she was going to go through that door behind the tapestry and find out for herself.

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><p><em><strong>Please read and review! Thanks!<strong>_


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: **__Sorry to have taken so long in updating this story! Hopefully I haven't lost anyone from my long absence!_

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><p><strong><span>Chapter Two - Into Darkness<span>**

Ariana remained in bed for a good 30 minutes before she was sure everyone had fallen asleep. Then, she crawled out of her bunk, grabbed a match and the small oil lamp next to the door, and snuck out into the hallway. She knew the halls of the opera house so well, she could find her way with no light easily.

When she finally arrived at the tapestry of the angel in the cemetery, she pushed it aside to reveal the door hidden behind it. She struck the match on the stone wall and then lit the oil lamp. That's when she saw the keyhole on the door.

"Oh please don't be locked..." Ariana whispered to herself. She hadn't expected a locked door. Taking a deep breath, she reached out, grabbed the knob, and turned it. The door was locked.

"Dammit," Ariana breathed, letting out a breath she had been holding. "It would be locked..." Glaring at the door, she thought about what to do next. As she thought, she wandered around the opera house until she found herself on the stage. The set from Don Juan still stood on the stage, right where it had been when everything had turned to chaos just hours before. And that's when Ariana remembered. Hadn't the Phantom been standing in the tower when he and Christine had vanished? It had looked as if they had fallen through the tower floor. Slowly, she made her way to the focal point of the elaborate set, the tower with the spiral staircase. Taking a deep breath, Ariana stepped onto the first stair and made her way to the top. The platform at the top of the stairs was just big enough for two people to stand on. Looking down at her feet, Ariana searched for any sign that there was a trap door, but the floor looked very solid. Not letting that stop her, she turned around slowly, looking for a rope or a button or...

"A lever!" Ariana whispered excitedly upon discovering the lever behind one of the black curtains draped at the edge of the platform. She reached out and put her hand on the wooden lever. She had know idea where she'd end up when she pulled the lever, but nothing was going to stop her from finding out where the trap door led. Taking a deep breath, Ariana tightened her grip on the lever and pulled back toward herself. Instantly, the floor beneath her dropped away and Ariana found herself plummeting downward into darkness.

Fortunately, the fall wasn't a long one and Ariana managed to land on her feet when she stopped falling. And even more fortunately, her lantern hadn't gone out during her descent. Holding the lantern up, Ariana found herself in some sort of stone chamber. In the distance, she saw a faint glow. Gathering her nerves, Ariana started off down the long hall towards the glow.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three - The Angel of Darkness**

Ariana seemed to walk forever through the damp darkness of the underground world beneath the opera house. Occasionally, she would see openings in the stone walls leading further into the darkness. But she never strayed from her path. The light was getting closer with each step.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Ariana emerged from the the darkness and what she saw made her heart stop for just a moment. She was staring at an immense underground lake. And on the opposite side of the lake was everything you would find in a lavish home set up among the stalagmites and stalactites of an enormous cave. A king size four-poster bed, ornate furniture, a huge organ, a grand piano...but as she looked closer, Ariana realized the destruction. Musical scores thrown everywhere. A full size mirror shattered. Tables and chairs overturned. She also realized the glow she had followed was coming from dozens of candles in brass candelabras, and a roaring fire in a large fireplace. This was it. She had actually found the lair of the Phantom of the Opera, and she wanted to explore it. There had to be some way across the lake. The crazy idea of swimming across entered Ariana's mind, but upon reaching down and feeling the freezing temperature of the water, she rejected the idea quickly. Looking around a moment more, she discovered a small rowboat tied to a metal stake at the far end of the platform she had walked out onto. Upon discovering oars inside the little boat, Ariana climbed in, set her lantern near the front, untied the little boat, and rowed across the lake.

Upon reaching her destination, Ariana tied the little boat to a rock, grabbed her lantern (which she extinguished as she no longer needed it), and began exploring her new surroundings. The candles burned bright around her as she made her way to what was once the music area. There, she found hundreds of pieces of paper with handwritten musical staffs and notes flowing across their surfaces all strewn about on the floor. The once proud organ was smashed. The sight brought tears to Ariana's eyes. Yes, the Phantom had killed and terrorized patrons and performers alike, but she never imagined the people who had hunted him down would destroy his life's work and his beautiful instruments. She had naively thought they would just chase him away and leave his things alone.

Setting her lantern down on the organ bench, Ariana bent down and picked up a ripped piece of paper. She could only see the name of the piece and the first few lines of music. The rest had been torn away. It was "The Point of No Return" from _Don Juan Triumphant, _the song Christine had been singing when the Phantom had taken her. Quickly lost in her own mind, Ariana didn't notice the long shadow appear next to her until it was too late. She gasped and whirled around, coming face to face with the Phantom himself. She screamed and stumbled backward into the organ bench and toppling over it onto the floor, sending her lantern flying and shattering into the wall.

"Who are you and how did you get here," the Phantom demanded in a raspy voice.

"G-Get away from me," Ariana stammered, staring up at the towering figure. His mask was in place, a gash on the exposed side of his forehead dripped blood down his pale cheek. Eyes like blue fire, he was clearly furious to find yet another intruder in his home.

"I asked you what your name is, girl," the Phantom growled, moving slowly towards Ariana, who continued to scoot backward toward the fireplace.

"Now...ANSWER ME!" Ariana whimpered in reply, feeling the heat from the fireplace on her back as she got closer and closer. She was intending to throw herself into the flames, but with the Phantom coming toward her, she wondered if it would be a possible way to escape whatever torture he had in mind for her. Before she could make up her mind, however, the Phantom tripped over a part of her lantern that was still near the organ bench and fell to the floor. The Phantom cried out in pain, Ariana taking the chance to scramble to her feet and race around to the other side of the room. Heart racing, Ariana stood terrified against a wall, watching as the Phantom attempted to stand, muttering long strings of curses as he realized his ankle had been twisted.

"Well?! Don't just stand there whimpering. Get over here and help me up," the Phantom barked, ice blue eyes locked with Ariana's green ones. When she didn't move, a twisted smile played on the Phantom's lips.

"I'm not going to hurt you, child," the Phantom said coolly. "I give you my word." Warily, Ariana began to make her way to the Phantom, ready to run for it if he broke his promise. She reached his side and he didn't try to grab for her. She bent down and got his left arm up and over her shoulders and began to stand, the Phantom supporting as much of his own weight as he could. Half standing, half bent over, the paid inched over to a black chair next to the fireplace, into which the Phantom collapsed.

"Now," the Phantom breathed, visibly in pain over his ankle. "I know I asked your name before, but you never gave it. Would you care to give it now?"

"A-Ariana," Ariana stammered in reply, going to the organ bench and righting it again before sitting down opposite of the Phantom.

"Ariana..." the Phantom repeated. "And, undoubtedly, you know who I am."

"Th-The Phantom of the Opera." Ariana replied quietly. The Phantom smiled a wicked smile.

"Yes. I am he. The one who haunts this opera house and sends young girls like yourself screaming in fear." Ariana sat in silence. It was one thing to talk about the Phantom in hushed tones in your bedroom with your roommates at night. It was quite another to be sitting not two feet in front of him. The Phantom could feel the nervous energy vibrating off of the young girl in front of him.

"So, now that you are here, you must have questions," the Phantom said, breaking the silence that had fallen.

"Yes. I do."

"Well? Go on then. Ask."

"Well...I guess a good place to start is what is your name? I can't imagine you only answer to Phantom..."

"Erik. Not that it matters."

"Why did you kill those people?"

"I had to send a message. They were of little importance." Ariana was struck by the calm, matter-of-fact tone with which Erik had answered that question. No trace of remorse for what he had done. Ariana pressed on.

"Why did you take Christine?"

"Do you always ask so many questions?"

"Y-You told me to..."

"And now I'm telling you to be silent."

"You love her..."

"I SAID BE SILENT!" Erik's blue eyes flashed with anger. He lunged from his chair towards Ariana, but with his ankle still injured, he couldn't bear weight on his foot and collapsed to the floor. Ariana was on her feet, unsure if she should run or try to help. She took a step toward Erik and his eyes found her.

"Get out! I don't need your pity! GET OUT!" And with that, Ariana turned and fled the Phantom's lair.


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: **__Just wanted to take a moment to thank my reviewers for sticking with me despite my very sporadic posting habits. I'm glad to see people are reading this thing and are enjoying it as much as I'm enjoying writing it. Hopefully I don't disappoint with this chapter! ;)_

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><p><strong><span>Chapter Four - He Saved Me<span>**

Ariana raced away from Erik at his outburst. Unfortunately, she completely forgot about the rowboat and charged headlong into the pitch black catacombs. She soon realized her mistake, but knew she couldn't go back. All she could do was keep moving forward and hope by sheer luck she would find a way out of the dark hell she found herself in.

She ran and ran, not wanting to stop for a moment. Suddenly, the ground gave way beneath her and she found herself falling, then she landed with a hard thud. She had tried landing on her feet, but her right foot had landed on a smooth object and made her foot fly out from under her, so she ended up hitting her head and blacking out.

When she came to, Ariana found herself at the bottom of a pit, head throbbing from whatever she had hit it on. As she sat in the darkness, her eyes slowly began to adjust and she could see objects on the ground around her, including the outline of the round object she must have hit when she fell. Curiosity took hold and Ariana inched toward the round object and picked it up, holding it close so she could see. It was a skull. A human skull. With a scream, Ariana dropped the skull and scrambled backward, hands brushing over other objects that Ariana could only imagine were more bones, which just made her scream again. She reached a far corner and huddled there, knees drawn up to her chest, crying and shaking. She didn't have any sense of time, so she had no idea how long she huddled there in the dark crying, but eventually, she heard footsteps coming toward her from above.

"Ariana?" It was Erik's voice. As much as he terrified her, Ariana didn't want to be stuck in that pit any longer.

"I'm down here!" Ariana called out, wiping the tears from her cheeks with her hands. From somewhere above her, Ariana heard the shuffling footsteps get closer and saw a faint glow getting steadily brighter. Before long, Ariana saw Erik standing at the edge of the pit above her, lantern in hand.

"I see you found one of my traps." Erik said.

"I...I fell in..." Ariana replied nervously. As badly as she wanted out of the pit, she had no idea what was in store for her once she was out. She watched as Erik set the lantern down near the edge of the pit and then he disappeared.

"Wait! Please don't leave me down here!"

"I'm not!" Erik reappeared, rope in hand. "I'm going to throw this down and you're going to climb out." Ariana stood up and was instantly overcome with dizziness. Her vision blurred and everything seemed to tilt sideways. It was so bad, she sat back down immediately.

"What's the hold up?" Erik called down.

"Got really dizzy," Ariana replied, eyes closed against the dizziness. "When I fell down here, I hit my head and blacked out."

"You may have a concussion." Erik said. "Here's what I want you to do. Crawl over to the rope and tie it around your waist. Then I'll pull you up." Ariana wasn't sure if the plan would work as Erik didn't seem to be the sort who was strong enough to pull her all that way up, but she did as she was told. When she had the rope secured around her waist, she stood, leaning against the wall directly under Erik, and waited for him to pull her up. With a quick yank, she was suddenly hoisted into the air. The sudden jerk brought on another wave of dizziness and Ariana squeezed her eyes shut as she inched closer and closer to the top of the pit.

Before long, Ariana was up and over the edge of the pit and lying on her back, eyes still shut, trying to make the dizziness go away. She wasn't sure how Erik had managed to pull her up, but he had.

"Can you stand?" Erik's voice asked from somewhere over her.

"I don't know." Ariana replied. She sat up slowly and the dizziness didn't get worse. It was a start. She took a deep breath, then pushed off from the ground and stood up. Again, the dizziness didn't get any worse.

"Think you can walk without falling?" Erik inquired.

"I think so." Ariana answered.

"Ok, then let's go." Without waiting for a reply, Erik picked up his lantern and set off down the corridor.

"Where are we going?" Ariana asked, trying her best to keep up with Erik's long strides.

"I'm going to take you back up to the opera house." Erik replied, not looking over his shoulder. "It's nearly dawn and if you're not back, they'll come looking."

"They think you're dead..."

"Yes. And I intend to keep it that way. Which is why you need to get back so they don't come back down here." The pair wound their way through the maze of passageways for what felt like forever to Ariana before they finally arrived at a staircase.

"There's a door at the top of the stairs. It leads to the backstage area." Erik said, holding his lantern up so Ariana could see. She followed the shadow of the staircase to the top where she could just barely see the door. Taking a breath, Ariana began to climb the stairs. Partway up, she stopped and turned around to look back at Erik. His face was bathed in the lantern light, the fire reflecting eerily off of his mask.

"Thank you for saving me, Erik." Ariana said with a small smile. Erik simply nodded in reply. Turning back to the stairs, Ariana reached the door before long and reached out and found the cool metal of the doorknob. She looked back one more time for her rescuer, but he was already gone. Ariana slipped through the door and realized it was the one behind the tapestry of the angel in the cemetery. Creeping down the dark halls, she quickly made her way back to her dorm room. She was just about to open the door when she heard whispered voices behind the door.

"She's been gone for hours."

"I know. I know."

"How long until we go to Madame?"

"I don't want to say anything until breakfast. It isn't like her to just disappear, but I know one of the violinists has taken a fancy to her, so for all we know, she went off with him for the night and is on her way back." Ariana giggled to herself at the whispered words of her roommates. Roberto, the violinist in question, was a handsome, shy, and very talented musician from Spain. She had known he fancied her for about a month before he finally plucked up the courage to ask her to dinner one weekend. As flattered as she had been, she hadn't felt a spark for him and had turned him down as politely and gently as she could. Now, the thought just made her giggle. Turning the doorknob to her room, Ariana stepped in.

"Izzy, I'll have you know I was _not _off with some young gentleman caller, much less that violinist." Ariana said as she closed the door with a grin.

"Ariana!" Isabella and Bridgette squealed together, racing to the older girl and hugging her tightly.

"Where have you been?! We've been worried sick!" Bridgette exclaimed.

"Shhhhh." Ariana replied, covering both her roommates' mouths with her hands and giggling. "I'll tell you but we need to stay quiet." The other girls nodded and followed Ariana up onto her bunk where Ariana proceeded to tell the whole story of her night in the Phantom's lair.

"My God, Ariana." Bridgette breathed at the end of her friend's story. "He could have killed you!"

"But he didn't." Ariana reminded her. "He saved me."

"Well, if you _do_ have a concussion, you need to see the doctor." Isabella noted.

"I know. But I want to eat first. How much longer do we have until breakfast?" Before either roommate could answer, a bell echoed throughout the back of the opera house, signalling to the residents of the dormitories that it was time for everyone to dress and go to breakfast. Without a word, Ariana and her roommates got dressed and filed out into the hallway with the other girls.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five - A Note**

Three days later found Ariana and the rest of the opera residents in rehearsals for the newest production. Ariana had seen the doctor the opera had on staff and when asked about her head injury, she had lied and said she had fallen from her bunk during a nightmare. Fortunately, she didn't have a concussion, but was told to keep an eye on the dizzy spells and to report back if they happened again.

Since _that night_, Christine had retired from her position as lead soprano and had left the company entirely to marry and live with the Vicomte de Chagny. With Carlotta also gone from the company, there were now two vacant lead positions available and Madame Giry suggested an audition to find the lucky girls to fill the positions. Everyone knew she wanted Meg to fill Christine's shoes, but she held the audition anyway. Ariana had looked up to Christine since her arrival at the opera from Italy and hoped maybe she had the voice to fill her idol's shoes, no matter what Madame Giry's agenda was for her daughter. She practiced tirelessly with the other chorus girls, then would sneak off to the chapel to practice her audition piece alone.

The day of the audition found Ariana up before everyone else, practicing one last time in the little chapel. As the last notes of the song faded, Ariana did something she had never done before. She knelt down and prayed. Not to God, but to the Angel of Music. She had once stumbled upon Christine doing just that when she had first arrived at the opera house all those years ago. Although not religious like the other girls, Ariana wondered if maybe, just maybe, this particular deity would hear her.

"Angel of Music? Umm...I'm new to this whole praying thing, so I hope I do this right. I don't ask for much in life. I have everything a girl my age could ask for. A roof over my head. Food in my stomach. The opportunity to sing and perform at such a wonderful place as this. But there's one thing I would like more than anything, and that is to fill the shoes of my idol, Christine Daae. If you can, please help me do well in my audition today and let my voice soar to the rafters. Thank you." Ariana rose to her feet, gathered her sheet music, and left the chapel, completely unaware that Erik had been listening in the entire time just on the other side of the chapel wall...

After breakfast, Ariana went with the other girls who were auditioning to the stage where Monsieur Firmin and Monsieur Andre were waiting to judge the auditions. Naturally, Meg Giry was already there as she was going to be the first to audition for the opera house owners. All of the other girls sang beautifully and Ariana couldn't help but feel a twinge of nerves. This was the biggest audition she had ever done.

"If that is everyone, we will post our decisions in the dormitory hallway..." Monsieur Firmin began.

"Actually, Monsieur..." Ariana interrupted. "I'd like to audition. If I'm not too late." A look of shock appeared on Madame Giry's face at Ariana's words.

"Ah. Ariana, isn't it? Ariana Ricci?" Monsieur Andre inquired, looking up at the young woman standing on the stage before him, handing her sheet music to the pianist.

"Yes, Monsieur." Ariana replied, dipping into a small curtsy.

"And what will you be singing for us today, Ariana?"

"I will be singing _Casta Diva_, composed by my late grandfather, Vincenzo Bellini." A hush fell over the theater. _Casta Diva_ was one of the most challenging arias for a soprano to master. Even Christine hadn't done it, though her attempt three years prior had been a good effort.

"Y-Your grandfather?" Monsieur Firmin stammered.

"Yes, Monsieur. He was my mother's father." Until that moment, no one had known Ariana's family history and certainly not that she was related to such a composer.

"I can't let you perform this song with only a piano," Firmin announced to the room as much as to Ariana. "Giry. Summon the orchestra. This is a piece that must have full orchestration." With the look of shock still firmly in place, Madame Giry did as she was instructed and pulled the orchestra from their rehearsal room to the main theater. Sheet music for the aria was located in the main office where it had been stored since Christine had last tried it and was passed out to all members of the orchestra as they quickly settled into their chairs. Once everyone was ready, the conductor looked up from the orchestra pit to Ariana.

"Whenever you're ready, my dear." Ariana took a deep breath and nodded that she was ready. As the opening notes to the aria began to fill the room, Ariana closed her eyes and sang. As if by some unearthly power, the melody and words were pulled from her throat and magnified all throughout the performance hall. Her voice swelled and diminished in perfect unison with the dynamics of the musicians playing at her feet, the sheer power of her voice almost overwhelming. By the time she finished, there wasn't a dry eye to be found, save her own. The beauty of what had just transpired left everyone speechless. Never in a million years did anyone think the chorus girl and dancer from Italy had such a powerful voice. Ariana opened her eyes and saw everyone staring at her, eyes wide, several mouths open. She instantly felt terribly uncomfortable and made a quick curtsy and mumbled a thank you before she turned to hurry from the stage.

"Wait!" Firmin's voice called out from the audience. Ariana stopped halfway from the backstage area and looked out to where he sat.

"That performance...it was like none that I have ever seen or heard before. On behalf of myself and my associate, Monsieur Andre, I would like to offer you the position of lead soprano and hope that you will accept it. I cannot think of anyone more deserving than you." Ariana just stared at Firmin. Had she heard correctly? There was no way. Certainly Meg or one of the other girls had gotten the part and she was just hearing incorrectly thanks to the adrenaline still coursing through her veins. She looked around, catching the eyes of the other chorus girls and her two roommates. Everyone stared back, waiting for her answer.

"I...I would be honored to accept the position, Monsieur Firmin." The room burst into applause and cheers. She had done it. She had actually secured the lead role. If there was an Angel of Music, she certainly believed he had helped her.

Back in her dormitory after lunch, Ariana was getting ready to change into her dance clothes so she could join her classmates when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Ariana called out, pulling her black leotard on over her tights. The door opened and there stood Meg Giry.

"I just came to congratulate you." Meg said from the door, though her tone didn't sound congratulatory. "And also to tell you since you are now lead soprano, your dance lessons are now over since that is for chorus girls and not someone of your new position and that you may move your things over to Christine's old dressing room any time."

"Meg..." Ariana began, but the other girl left without another word, closing the door behind her. She was obviously upset that she had been upstaged by Ariana.

"Well, nothing I can do about it." Ariana said to herself. She changed out of her dance clothes and into a plain light blue dress with a silver sash around her waist and decided to go explore her new dressing room, even though she didn't have anything to put into it.

When she arrived, the brass plate that had had Christine's name on it had been removed and a new one with her full name, Ariana Ricci, was in it's place. In the back of her mind, Ariana wondered how the name plate had been finished so quickly, but the thought soon disappeared when she opened the door to the dressing room. Crimson, black, and gold was the color scheme of the large room. The carpet was black, the curtains framing the large window were black velvet. The walls had been painted crimson and the chair to the vanity and the fainting couch were cherry wood with crimson cushions trimmed in gold. The vanity was a matching cherry wood to it's chair with brass knobs on the drawers. The mirror showed her her reflection, but upon looking closer at the reflection, Ariana realized there was something sitting on the fainting couch. She turned and saw that it was a piece of paper, folded in half with her name in an elegant script on the front. She sat down, unfolded the note, and read.

_My Dearest Ariana,  
>Words cannot describe your performance today.<br>I thought I had heard angels sing when Christine sang, but her voice  
>pales in comparison to what I witnessed this day.<br>I could sit here and write out page after page of apologies for my behavior the other night,  
>but I feel saying so in person would be more meaningful. Tonight, when all have gone to sleep,<br>return to this room and I shall come to you.  
>Yours Fondly,<br>~Erik_

Ariana read the note several times, not believing the words written before her eyes. Her voice? better than Christine Daae's? She tucked the note away in a pocket in her dress and slipped back out of the dressing room, making her way back to her dormitory, all the while wondering how Erik would manage to get to the dressing room undetected.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN:**__ If anyone is interested in listening to a really lovely cover of the _Casta Diva _song I mentioned in this chapter, look up Renee Fleming performing it. She is one of the most talented (if not _the _most talented) soprano of our time and I love her cover of the song._


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